Death by Crème Brulee

   

 Mon Dieu! It’s a good thing we had just three days in Paris because further opportunities to dine out would probably result in an emergency visit to the cardiologist. Where are you Sam? It is so hard to skip the calorific options on the menu when variations on chocolate everything, crème brulee and crème caramel are standard fare at every eatery in Paris. And that’s just the cafes and restaurants. Needless to say, the patisseries, the chocolate specialty shops, the macaron bars and the boulangeries offer the sweetest of treats as well. Not only is the fare delicious, it is an absolute feast for the eyes. Amazingly one of the most elegant salons de sucre is at Charles de Gaulle airport where the display is superb and complements perfectly the adjacent caviar, salmon, fois gras and wine bar. And that is just in the departures area, not the club lounges. Plenty of high fliers here in Paris.

We may not have been paddling hard at the Masters Games like many of our dragon boating colleagues, but in the past few days we have given our legs a thorough workout in Paris. We have walked the famous boulevards and the narrow rues, crossed the Seine bridges and climbed the escaliers. You miss so much travelling on the Metro underground and walking certainly keeps up the circulation on these cold 10 degree days.

Today we witnessed the most interesting sight on the lawns by the L’Ouvre: about 14 dogs all with orange neck scarves being socialized and exercised by their dog sitters. They were immaculately groomed and generally well behaved. Only a couple were on leashes while the others chased each other in the shadow of the world’s most famous gallery and performed for the passersby. We noted the Labrador was content to sit by one of the dogsitters’ backpacks – no doubt guarding a stash of doggie treats.

Another unusual sight was how to move house Paris style. Don't worry about humping furniture up five flights of narrow stairs. Just use an extension ladder with a clever little travellator. But don't try it with a grand piano!

To ensure we experienced some local culture, we toured the grand opera house. Such opulence - gold and marble on every surface, grand salons and even a gallery featuring portraits of past performers, miniature models of stage sets and a library of librettos and music. The stage was being prepared for a season of Aida and we were able to view both the stage and auditorium from a private box. How decadent it would be to have a season ticket to the Paris opera and sweep up the grand staircase in one’s finery!

The lavish décor of the opera house paled in comparison with the Palace of Versailles which we visited on a double-bill day trip with Monet’s home and garden at nearby Giverny. Although it was early autumn, there were still many colourful flowers on show in the impressionist’s famous garden – gorgeous yellow sunflowers and daisies, bright red geraniums, deepest blue verbena, a profusion of pink begonias and numerous others adding to a wonderful spectacle. The roses were spent and the water lilies were not in flower but it was lovely, especially given the backdrop of the Monet’s perfect country estate. Although the house seemed quite large from the outside, the rooms that visitors were permitted to shuffle through were quite small. Having seen the Monet exhibition in Melbourne recently, it lived up to expectations but how nice it would be to have it on your own for an hour or two. There were lots of people even on a cold autumn day and thankfully the gift shop was as large as the house because everyone was hankering to buy seeds, cards, aprons, calendars and all the usual merchandise.

If half of Paris was at Monet’s Garden, then the other half was at Versailles. Being a Sunday, families were picnicking in the grounds, riding bikes, tootling around in golf carts and just enjoying the patches of sunshine. The queue to visit the apartments was so long (at least an hour to wait in the freezing cold to get in) that we opted to traverse the extensive gardens and woodlands and enjoy the Mozart and Vivaldi program accompanying the wondrous water displays in the numerous fountains. By 4pm the queue to the Hall of Mirrors and other lavish apartments had dwindled to nothing so we did a lightning tour. Versailles is dazzling from the outside but totally over the top and oppressive inside. It is not a patch on the gorgeous Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Andrew has now added palaces to his “not to do” list.

He did capitulate and entered one last ecclesiastical monument in Paris to attend the 6.30pm Mass at Notre Dame. Actually we stayed only for the first 20 minutes to witness an elaborate procession of pious old men in pointy hats and fresh faced young men devoting themselves to chastity. The choir and organ shook the place to its foundations so we thought we had better leave lest we be struck by the wrath of Archbishop of Paris and his underlings, let alone the Almighty himself.

Next stop Muscat, Oman, for our 4WD adventure in the desert and then home sweet home.